Read what is in the news today, June 26!

Politics

-- Vietnam and Indonesia held their first Defense Policy Dialogue in Hanoi on Tuesday as the two sides discussed the security situation in the Asia-Pacific region, cooperation within the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM Plus, and preparations for Vietnam’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2020.

-- Vietnam will take an active part in the upcoming G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, where it will participate as a guest at the invitation of host Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam.

Society

-- The northern key economic region of Vietnam, which includes Hanoi and seven neighboring provinces and cities, should maintain its role as the country’s center of politics, economy, culture and science-technology, and strive to become one of the nation’s two biggest economic hubs, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a conference held to promote the region’s development on Tuesday.

-- A three-day conference reviewing cooperation results between Vietnam’s ministries and localities and the Chinese province in Guangzhou city concluded on Tuesday in Beijing, as both sides focused discussions on measures to foster trade cooperation and expand China’s import of Vietnam’s high-quality products.

-- Vietnamese doctors said on Tuesday they had cured a 13-year-old female patient of the Mucha-Habermann disease, a super rare skin disorder that has only been reported on 38 patients worldwide and had never before been seen in Vietnam.

Business

-- The number of electronic payments made in Vietnam in the first quarter of 2019 saw a nearly 100-percent growth from the same period in 2018, while the total value of such transactions increased by more than 230 percent, according to the State Bank of Vietnam.

Lifestyle

-- The tourism department of Quang Binh Province in central Vietnam announced on Tuesday that it is working with Google to launch a campaign promoting regional travel destinations on YouTube and Google Arts & Culture platform.

-- Vietnamese spent US$9 billion on online shopping in 2018, more than a third of which coming from bookings for air tickets, hotels and tour packages, according to a Google-Temasek report cited on Tuesday by Traveloka Vietnam president Huynh Thi Mai Thy.

Education

-- Hundreds of thousands of students in Vietnam will sit tests on natural sciences and foreign languages on Wednesday, the second day of the 2019 National High School Examination, results of which are used to determine whether a student qualifies for graduation from high school and acts as a placement test for college and university entrance in the country.

Sports

-- The resignation of Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) deputy chair Can Van Nghia, who is in charge of finding sponsorships and finances for the federation, will not affect negotiations to renew a contract with South Korean Park Hang Seo, whose contract to coach Vietnam’s national men’s football team will expire in January 2020, VFF chairman Le Khanh Hai said on Tuesday.

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